As his teammates went through pregame routines, Pistons rookie center Andre Drummond was going through something a bit different Wednesday night.
Drummond stood on the Verizon Center floor, shooting the basketball off the side the backboard.
Whether it was strength and conditioning coach Arnie Kander's latest idea or just boredom, it appears the Pistons will have to keep adjusting to life without him. He has missed 10 games with a stress fracture in his lower back.
It's obvious the second unit has suffered from his absence.
"Obviously it's a little different," Charlie Villanueva said before the Pistons' 96-95 victory over the Wizards. "Andre was definitely a focal point on the offense we were trying to run."
The second unit of Drummond, Villanueva, Austin Daye, Will Bynum and Rodney Stuckey energized the team earlier this season. It was a steady dose of Bynum running pick-and-roll with Drummond, who ran to the basket for thunderous alley-oop dunks.
The Pistons have had some success with rookie center Slava Kravtsov, but it hasn't been close to Drummond's level. Bynum and Villanueva's shooting percentages are down in the 10 games.
The Pistons are nearing the four-week mark of Drummond's initial diagnosis and it appears it would be optimistic to expect a return soon. The Pistons said earlier this month that he would be out four to six weeks.